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Category Archives: Conway Masterplan

The Design Commission has approved Saltwood, a development with two six-story buildings on Blocks 291W and 292W of the Con-way Masterplan area of Northwest Portland. The development, designed by SERA Architects for Cairn Pacific, will include 354 units and 17,000 sq ft of retail space. 394 long term bicycle parking stalls and 362 parking spaces are proposed.

The Design Commission has approved the Block 290 development at NW 21st and Pettygrove. The project by LRS Architects and PLACE Studio for Guardian Real Estate Services will include a new publicly accessible square, surrounded by a mixed use building of four to seven stories in height. The project will will include 201 residential units over ground floor retail. 120 vehicular parking spaces are proposed in a below grade garage.

An initial design review hearing has been held for the Block 290 development at NW 21st and Pettygrove. The project by LRS Architects and PLACE Studio for Guardian Real Estate Services will include a new publicly accessible square, surrounded by a mixed use building of four to seven stories in height. The project will will include 201 residential units over ground floor retail. 107 vehicular parking spaces are proposed in a below grade garage.

This is an updated version of a post originally published on October 19th, 2015.

Construction is underway on a major renovation of the Con-way Leland James Center, which will see the existing building gain an additional story and an entirely new facade. The building will primarily be used as creative office space, with three new retail units added at the ground floor. An existing basement will be converted in parking for 72 cars and 150 bikes. Showers and lockers will be provided for the benefit of bike commuters. The design of the project is by SERA Architects for developers Cairn Pacific and Capstone Partners.

The Portland Development Commission received three offers for Centennial Mills, according to The Oregonian. All three offers, valued at $1,000, $100,000 and $3.45 million, were rejected. The redevelopment agency will now consider “how/whether to reengage the market”.

TheDJC reported that the under construction Overlook Pointe condominium development at 5425 N Minnesota Ave was burned down in a fire* early Wednesday morning.

The PDC voted to sell property at 1053–1201 NW Naito Parkway to The Wolff Company for $9 million. The Oregonian reported that the developer plans to build 340 apartments on the site, 68 of which would be affordable for at least 10 years.

The Portland Mercury profiled Swift Real Estate Partners, the San Francisco Investment Firm that is “Snatching Up Old Town Real Estate“. The company’s acquisitions include the New Market Theater, a historic building adjacent to the Skidmore Fountain that could receive a significant addition.

More than 1,000 people applied for the 65 housing units available to people displaced from North and Northeast Portland, according to The Oregonian.

The City is planning a $25 million renovation of the 10th & Yamhill Smart Park, according to the Portland Business Journal. The scope of the project will include addressing seismic and ADA deficiencies in the existing structure.

Three new surf shops are set to open in the next year, reports The Oregonian. These include Cosube, which will open in Slateat the Burnside Bridgehead, and Leeward Northwest Surf & Sea, which will open in New New Crusher Court at 2450 NE Sandy Blvd.

According to the Portland Business Journal, furniture retailer Room & Board will open next year in the Pearl District’s newly renovated Fisk Tire Company Building.

The Portland Business Journal wrote that the affordable housing development N. Williams Centerwill include 61 units, with a mix that includes “one-, two- and three-bedroom units, as well as a children’s area, gathering spaces, community gardens and a chicken coop.”

This post is an updated version of a post originally published on November 13th 2015.

Construction is underway on Blocks 294E and 295E at the north end of the Northwest District. The buildings by GBD Architects and Jones Architecture respectively, for developer Cairn Pacific, will include 385 residential apartment units and nearly 20,000 sq ft of ground level retail space. An underground garage stretching below both blocks will include 600 car parking spaces. Half of the parking spaces are a replacement for existing XPO Logistics (formerly Con-way) employee parking. Parking for 553 bikes will be provided.

Image from the Design Review submission for the Slabtown Square at Con-way Block 290, by YBA Architects

As Portland gets ready to implement Inclusionary Zoning for the first time, the DJC reported* on the discussions being held by the Inclusionary Housing Panel of Experts. The panel is working to “recommend a set [of regulations] that provides affordable housing without discouraging development.”

OPB reported that the Portland City Council voted to refer a $258 million bond measure for affordable housing to the voters in November. If approved, the measure would create 1,300 housing units, at a cost of $75 a year in taxes for the typical homeowner.

A historic synagogue at 3225 SW Barbur Blvdcould be threatened by new development, according to the Willamette Week. The distinctive dome of Ahavath Achim was designed by noted mid-century architect John Storrs. A recent Early Assistance application was received by the City for a 30-unit apartment complex on the site.

The Northwest Examiner reported [PDF] that Guardian Real Estate Services is placing the Slabtown Square at Con-way Block 290on hold as it reconsiders its options for the site. The project was scheduled to go before the Design Commission on May 19th, but was rescheduled to a date “TBD”. The paper also revealed that XPO Logistics, who bought Con-way last year, are “looking to sell the seven remaining unclaimed acres in the [Con-way] Masterplan area to a national developer.”

The Business Tribune wrote about 1510 NE Multnomah, the 677 unit development by Holst Architecture, planned for the parking lot of the Regal Lloyd Center 10 & IMAX. The project had its first Design Review hearing on June 30th.

The Portland City Council voted to approve a policy that will make closing sidewalks and bike lanes a “last resort” during construction projects.

The City has fired the contractor that was developing ITAP, the new permitting software for the Bureau of Development Services. Despite spending $3.9 million on the project to date, the software is years behind schedule and nowhere near complete.

Next City asked if National Treasure designation will save Veterans Memorial Coliseum?

*This article will be unlocked for the rest of this week. After this week it will only be viewable by DJC subscribers.

The mixed use development at 930 SW 3rd Ave, which originally proposed to incorporate the Ancient Order of United Workmen Temple

Restore Oregon noted that two downtown buildings have been removed from the City’s Historic Resources Inventory. The buildings are on the site of a proposed mixed use development at 930 SW 3rd Ave, which will include a 20-story hotel and 10-story office building. As part of the development the Hotel Albion (which includes the Lotus Café and Cardroom) will be demolished. The Ancient Order of United Workmen Temple Building will be incorporated into the development will also be demolished.

In a 5-0 vote, the Portland City Council adopted the Broadway Corridor Framework Plan, which will form the vision for how the 14 acre Post Office site in the Pearl will be developed. The acquisition of the site, worth between $135 and $177 million according to developer Mark Edlen, will cost the City up to $80 million.

The Society Hotelopened this week in Old Town / Chinatown. The Portland Mercury published photos of the low cost hotel meets hostel, and described the “gorgeous rooftop deck” as the project’s “crowning jewel”.

Shortly after acquiring trucking company Conway, XPO Logisitics laid off 101 Portland based workers. Though headquartered in Ann Arbor until its acquisition, Conway was a large landowner in Northwest Portland. What effect, if any, the acquisition will have on the redevelopment of the Conway Masterplanarea is currently unclear.

Kaiser is planning a 700 space parking garage at 500 NE Multnomah in the Lloyd District. According to BikePortland the structure “aims in part to free up space on Kaiser’s other parking lots, which could then be developed or sold in order to continue the surge of big developments [in] the Lloyd District”.

In a post titled ‘The City of Fabric Buildings‘ Places over Time noted how curious it is that “Portland has developed such an international reputation as a city without the assistance of any real place-specific visual aides”.

Design work is about to start on the Multnomah County Health Dept HQ, which will be located on a site near Union Station. The new building will be “nine stories and run between $85 million to $95 million” according to a report in The Oregonian.

Portland Monthly reported that health food “haven” Prasad opened a second location at the Portland Rock Gym, which recently completed a major expansion.

NOTE: This post has been revised to reflect that the Temple building will be demolished, as shown on drawings published on the City Auditor’s website Monday.

At Portland Architecture Brian Libby interviewed Kengo Kuma, the Japanese architect behind the Japanese Garden Expansion. The acclaimed architecture shared his thoughts on thoughts on Portland, the role of Japanese Gardens in urban settings and the material choices made for his new buildings in Portland.

The first building in the Conway Masterplan opened this week. New Seasons are the anchor tenant at the Slabtown Marketplaceon Conway Block 296. An adjacent apartment building on the same block, the LL Hawkins, will open later in the year.

The Portland City Council voted to make changes to the property tax exemption system designed to entice developers to build affordable housing. The annual cap will be lifted from $1 million to $3 million, and the competitive application system will be scrapped. The changes are intended to create up to 200 affordable units a year. Separately, the Portland Housing Advisory Commission recommended that Portland should increase the share of urban renewal money used for affordable housing from 30% to 50%.